The day book. (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, November 04, 1916, LAST EDITION, Image 18

Image and text provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

'JOHN CAREY'S BOOTSBy H. M. Egbert(Copyright, 1916, W. G. Chapman.)I suspected Louise Carey from thefirst, but in that I was no differentfrom the farmer's neighbors. JohnCarey had married a second time,late in life, when his three sons weregrowing up to manhood. Jim, theeldest, was 20; Frank, 18; Leonard,the youngest, 14.John Carey was rich, and LouiseBrand had been a poor girl in thecity when the elderly man, making abusiness trip there, saw her workingas a stenographer in the lawyer's office. The courtship was brief andthey were married after thpir firstmeeting.John Carey had been a close-fistedman, but a good neighbor, and hadbeen generally esteemed. He fellunder the rule of his young wife.His sons., resented the stranger'spresence in' the home. Quarrels between father and sons ensued. Therewas a bad one a week before thefarmer's death. He changed his will,leaving everything to his Wife, withreversion to Leonard, the youngest,the only one who cared for his stepmother. Between the two a devotedattachment sprang up.The motive for murdering JohnCarey? Fear lest he should changehis will again. Three ,days later"Carey came in from the field wlierehe had been binding, in high spirits.He had his supper, pulled off hisboots, lit his pipe, complained of feeling ill and lay down on the lounge.Nobody else was in the room. Whenbis wife entered, an hour later, hewas dead, his lower limbsvand bodyterribly swollen.It was like snake poison. The experts said the condition of the bodyresembled that of a man who hadbeen struck by a rattler. But therewas no rattler in the house, thoughthey were plentiful in the field. IfCarey had been killed by a snake thepoison would' have taken effect before he entered his home.John Carey was buried, and thefew whispers on the part of theneighbors died away. Jim and Frankhad left the house at the time of thequarrel. They started suit, allegingundue influence. They had removedtheir personal effects, including someclothing, the property of their father.Close-fisted like him, they did notsee the sense of leaving his effects"Leonard!" She Gasped.to Louise, and she offered no objection. It was just a month later that thesecond death occurred. Jim Careyhad gone to the stepmother's houseto talk things over with her. LouiseCarey was a sensible woman andhad volunteered to come to a settlement. According to her story theyhad practically reached an agreement She had given her stepsontea and he had complained that His